Implementation of a linked Medical Organization Survey in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

Recent changes in the provision and organization of health care initiated by the Affordable Care Act have led to concerns about how these changes interact with the medical provider organizational characteristics to affect access, use, and expenditures for care. To examine the impact on individuals' use of care and costs, linked information is needed on both the characteristics of the medical providers' organizations and the individuals receiving care. There is currently no nationally representative data source that provides this essential information. Consequently, a Medical Organizations Survey (MOS) has been added as a component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to address this limitation. The MEPS-MOS will obtain essential data on provider organizational characteristics, policies, and treatment protocols for a nationally representative sample of physicians providing care to MEPS participants. This paper describes the survey and sample design of the MEPS-MOS, survey content and precision targets and its analytical focus. This addition will substantially enhance the analytic capacity of the MEPS by facilitating assessments of how provider organizational structures and policies impact on health care utilization and expenditures, health status, patient safety and the health outcomes of individuals.